Does Tottenham's PFA Team of the Year Haul Show They Should Be Champions?

Tottenham Hotspur sit five points behind Leicester City with just four games to play in the most unpredictable Premier League season in years. 

Spurs began this campaign with aspirations of breaking into the top four and returning to the UEFA Champions League after a five-year absence.

From this point, there will be some sense of disappointment at finishing with anything less than the league title. 

The PFA Premier League Team of the Year was named on Thursday, and no team has more players included than Tottenham. 

Four of the stars of Spurs' season were selected. 

Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose were recognised for their brilliant individual campaigns as part of Mauricio Pochettino's title-chasing side. 

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The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year was inaugurated in the 1973-74 season, and Tottenham have never had more than three players selected—except in 1977-78, when five Spurs players were named when they were playing their way out of the Second Division. 

Tottenham have had more players selected this season than they did in the entire decade of the 2000s. In that forgettable period, Stephen Carr was twice named and Dimitar Berbatov once.  

This is yet another expression of the fact this has been Spurs' best domestic season since the double year of 1960-61. 

They've scored the most goals (64) and conceded the fewest (25) of any club in the division.  

They thrashed Manchester City twice, hammered Manchester United at White Hart Lane and been the better side against Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Leicester City.

In any other season, a team with that resume would be the favourite to claim the title.

With the additional evidence of their domination of the PFA Team of the Year, Mauricio Pochettino's team will make a uniquely pedigreed runner-up.

A litany of vanquished managers have graciously described Tottenham as the best team they've faced this season, but that counts for little. 

Unfortunately for Spurs, their remarkable ascension from outsiders for a Champions League place to title contenders has been overshadowed by a less likely rise: that of Leicester City.

Claudio Ranieri's team has shattered expectations again and again. 

Leicester's rise was so unexpected that Tottenham have been cast as the Goliath to their David when a Spurs title win seemed comparably remote before the season began.

It would be unfair to suggest Spurs have squandered a once-in-a-generation chance to wrest the league title away from their super-rich rivals, yet it is difficult to resist that line of thinking.  

It cannot be argued that Spurs deserve the league title unless they are crowned champions. There is no inherent fairness beyond the doling out of points. 

The points gap between the Foxes and Spurs is just five points and demonstrates the significant cost of Tottenham's inability to convert their chances in the 1-0 home defeat to Leicester in January.

Reverse the outcome of that fixture, and Spurs sit atop the table.

Tottenham certainly resemble a typical title-winning team.

With their season on the line, they've reeled off a pair of bruising victories against Manchester United and Stoke City, rolling them 3-0 and 4-0 respectively. 

They are consistently overwhelming teams with their cohesive movement and unmatched physical fitness.

It is worth pointing out the PFA Team of the Year is not determined by any objective measurements—a shortlist of players is voted on by their peers. The subjectivity of a player's vote undermines its value as a genuine indicator of quality.

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Leicester City lead the Premier League on the most objective measurement. They've got five more points than Spurs, and that is all that really matters. 

If Tottenham do manage to catch the leaders and claim the title, the presence of four of their players in the PFA Team of the Year would only seem appropriate, but that remains an unlikely outcome. 

Spurs should be proud of the recognition of Alli, Kane, Alderweireld and Rose, but they will probably need to be equally proud of second place.